Friday, June 8, 2012

Visitors!

March and April brought us visitors! After a long, hard
winter, March flew by as we anxiously awaited the arrival of Chad’s mom,
Deanna, at the end of the month. The weather couldn’t have been any more
gorgeous and above all, it was so wonderful to have her here. The kids loved
having Grandma dote on them and I always so enjoy her company. I’m so blessed
to have such a wonderful lady for a mother-in-law! I couldn’t wait to show her
around. We braved taking the train into Stuttgart to visit the Wilhelma Zoo on
a gorgeous, warm day. The language barrier was a little intimidating at first,
but there was a group of students that spoke English quite well and were so
eager to help us. They were so wonderful, helping us purchase our tickets,
guiding us where to go, and most of all, helped carry the stroller up and down the
stairs as we had to change trains at the Böblingen station and then again at
the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (main station). What classy, wonderful kids they
were. Overall, it was fun and pretty easy too. I won't be so nervous to do it the next time!The zoo was so fun and I can’t
wait to get back. Lucy squealed in delight most of the time and Kane loved
exploring and all the fun animals. I loved the beautiful architecture and the botanical
gardens that featured countless magnolia trees in full bloom. It smelled so
sweet and heavenly!

We also made it to a neat town in the Black Forest called
Triberg. It’s “the” place to go to purchase a cuckoo clock and also in the
region that is known for creating black forest cake. We got a bit of a late
start, so we couldn’t stay as long as we would’ve liked, but it was wonderful.
Deanna found a cuckoo clock she wanted to take home to the family and also
purchased a small one for Kane as well. He was fascinated and loved the clocks and really
wanted one to “wake up my family”. He took a lot of care in picking one that
was just right :)

We had hoped to do more, but unfortunately Kane became quite
ill with a cold. Regardless, it was a wonderful visit and one we all will
treasure. We so look forward to her coming back, and hopefully she’ll bring
Chad’s dad too!

In April, my uncle Mike happened to be fairly nearby on
business. He messaged me one Saturday and said he was headed our way and wanted
to meet up. We’d hoped to meet up at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart, but it
just didn’t pan out with us only having one car at the time and the kids
needing their naps. Luckily he was able to stop by the house for a short while
and meet Lucy for the first time and he spoke some German with Kane. It was
great visit and I hope next time we can see him for awhile longer!

Toward the end of April, my aunt Bonnie came to visit on her
way back home after a nearly 3 week-long business trip to India. She was so glad to
see the lush green land of Germany, have cooler weather, and good food! :) We had a wonderful
visit while she was here! She stayed at a hotel near Panzer, where Chad works
so I picked her up every morning after dropping him off. One of the first days
she was here we visited Lichtenstein Castle, which is a lot smaller than
Hohenzollern, but a lot more character. It was beautiful and we thoroughly
enjoyed the guided tour of the interior. It was just us and another couple so
the guide was kind enough to translate things for us. It was quite cold that
day, but beautiful!

Another day we had decided to go to Ulm…home of the Ulmer
Münster, a cathedral with the world’s tallest steeple and hometown of Albert
Einstein. The cathedral was easy to spot from miles away and as we neared it, I
couldn’t wait to get a closer look. It was one of the most impressive, awe-striking
things I have ever seen. It was so intricate and beautiful, I just couldn’t
take my eyes off of it. The interior of the church was overwhelming as well. I
wish I could’ve spent more time, but centuries-old Gothic churches aren’t
very exciting for children, haha! We walked and walked and enjoyed the
urban-meets-old vibe in the bustling city of Ulm. Again, didn’t get to spend as
much time, but we had to get back to avoid the nasty traffic on the A8! I hope
to get back again soon and maybe hit up the Einstein museum next time!

On her last day here, we roamed around in the town where we
live, Sindelfingen. I’d never actually been in the city center before. So we
found a yarn shop nearby where Bonnie bought a few skeins of lovely yarn and
walked into the square in search of döner kebaps (by far my most favorite thing
I’ve had living here) and the historic St. Martin’s church, which was built in
1083 and is one of the oldest churches in the Stuttgart area. We also found a
lovely fountain that Kane couldn’t get enough of, as well as an awesome farmer’s
market. It was a great day and overall, we had such a lovely visit with her! We
hope she is able to make it out for another visit. Kane just cried and cried
when we took her to the train station. He enjoyed all of our family visits! It
has been rough on he and I both, being so far from family, but we get each
other through and focus on the cool things we’ve already gotten to see!